A Thin Red Line
by Unfalling Tears
Summary: I wonder how it started. You and I. Was it when you first came through my window that one night? AU, all human.


I wonder how it started. You and I. Was it when you first came through my window that one night? AU, all human.

 _ **Author's Note**_ \- I know what you might be thinking. No, I did not abandon my other story, which you can find on my profile! A new chapter of AES will be posted soon. This story was created simply for my amusement and also for me to write freely, just for fun! Please keep me accountable in posting regularly by commenting or sending me messages. That would be lovely. Let me know what you think. x

Elena's pov

Elena woke to the familiar sensation of being crushed. She wriggled a bit, pushing her shoulder backwards to ease the weight off herself. Not surprisingly, it didn't do much. He moved slightly, but the arms wrapped around her weren't going to move any time soon it seemed. He was spooning her from behind, breathing deeply into the back of her hair.

His heavy arm was draped over her, pinning her arms to her chest, and he was holding her hand tightly with fingers interlaced, his leg slung casually over hers. Elena could feel the usual morning 'surprise,' as Bonnie would like to say it, pushing against the small of her back.

She silenced her phone and elbowed him in the stomach.

"Six o'clock," she murmured sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

"Mmm, ten more minutes," he mumbled, pulling her closer to his chest.

"No, no more ten minutes. Last time it turned into an hour and Jeremy nearly caught you in here," she whispered, elbowing him in the side this time.

"Ten more minutes," he begged, half asleep. Elena could only sigh and shake her head. She didn't have time in the morning to argue with him. Before she could give it another thought, she drifted asleep.

* * *

"Elena, you'd better be awake!" Jeremy shouted from outside her door, not bothering to do much else. Elena jerked up, searching for her phone. Half past seven. Oh God.

She turned to wake him up, but the bed turned empty on his side. She groaned as she got up, stretching her sore muscles.

He must've done this on purpose, probably to get back for what happened last week when he had missed a whole day of work because she didn't wake him.

 _Well, who said not to keep an alarm?_

There was no time to lose. She hurried and got ready, taking the quickest shower and putting on minimal makeup that even Bonnie would disapprove.

Twenty minutes later, she trudged into the kitchen with a frown, noticing Stefan Salvatore leaning casually against the counter, eating _her_ cereal. She didn't bother giving him any attention and moved past him, searching for the bag of veggie chips she stowed away the other day.

"Rough morning?" he asked, watching her amusedly as he took another slurp of the bowl.

She looked back at him and grimaced. Stefan looked the same every morning, like a Greek god. His soft, brown hair was messy in his usual 'hero hair' look. His sculpted body was deliciously apparent underneath the snug-fitting fabric of his forest green T-shirt. Not to mention, his jeans cuffed him in a way that got any girl wondering what was in Stefan Salvatore's pants. Typical. She felt sorry for anyone who fell for it, and that would include thousands of Mystic Falls high girls.

"No thanks to you. Actually, you just made it worse," she remarked, deciding that no filter was the way to go today.

Stefan's emerald hues glittered with amusement. He was thoroughly enjoying this, Elena could tell. She gave him a dead look, making him chuckle.

"Shut up, Stefan. And why the hell are you eating my cereal again? Don't you have food? I'm sure you can find something in that big house of yours." Out of the corner of her eyes, Elena saw Jeremy rush into the kitchen. She moved forward to snatch the bowl out of Stefan's hands while he was distracted and began to eat his barely eaten cereal.

"Elena, give the poor guy a break. No one told you to wake up this late," Jeremy barked and scowled at the same time from behind the refrigerator door, prompting Elena to roll her eyes.

"No one told him he could eat my cereal," she remarked, casually shrugging. She gave a look back at Stefan, making him shrug goofily. Without Jeremy looking, he managed to sneak in a wink at her making her blush slightly.

 _Damn Salvatore, you have got some nerve._

Irritated, she turned her back on him and continued eating. When she finished, she moved to place her bowl in the sink.

"Are you guys about ready? I'm gonna be late." The two boys looked her way and nodded. It was so in sync and ready that Elena had to stifle her laugh.

The thing is, Jeremy was a year younger than both Stefan and Elena. The three of them grew up together as their parents were close high school friends. Later, Stefan's parents moved away, leaving him and his brother to stay in town. Conveniently, they lived right next door. A few years later, Elena's parents passed away in a car accident, which was almost four years ago, around the same time Elena entered the 8th grade. Something in their car broke, causing the car to spin and fall under the Wickery Bridge. It was a horrible way to die; Elena would still shudder at the thought of her parents' death. Mystic Falls being a small community, almost everyone the Gilberts knew came by to share their condolences.

After their funeral, Elena went missing for a week, not able to withstand the grief that struck her very core. It only took a phone call from Stefan saying Jeremy had overdosed that Elena woke up from her reverie. Thankfully, he'd been caught early and was recovering by the time Elena got to the hospital. It didn't take more than a few days for Jenna to move in and take her parents' place in raising both Elena and Jeremy.

Stefan and Jeremy had a relatively close relationship, but it was the scare accident that really bonded the two. He visited the hospital everyday of summer. By now, the boys were almost inseparable. Not to mention, they had a reputation of playing almost every girl in school. Those two still laugh their heads off when they see the word breast in chicken breast at a restaurant. Elena had no clue why girls were head over heels obsessed with them. Disregarding what Elena thinks, they were the "heartthrobs" of Mystic Falls. Those stupid labels got in their heads, honestly. Elena couldn't care less about status or popularity. That might be because she knew very well that she was well liked by most. She was every boy's first crush. Caroline would call her the "girl next door." Again, it's all stupid.

The trio finally made their way out of the house and into Stefan's prized red 1963 custom made Porsche. If the Salvatore's got anything, it was money. The three conversed loudly against the wind and music, enjoying each other's presence despite earlier complications. It was always like this. Elena can pick on either of them and at the end of the day, they knew she loved them and likewise.

As she turned away from the window, she jumped a little as she noticed Stefan in the rear view mirror looking back at her. His green eyes were lit with mischievousness, but Elena's heart softened at the familiarity of his bright eyes. He looked away, but Elena continued to watch him curiously, wondering what he was thinking. Somehow, she could never get into Stefan Salvatore's head. He was an open book yet the words and paragraphs always turn out blurry. She peered out the window as he drove into his designated parking spot.

As if on cue, she heard a loud obnoxious bark.

"The princesses arrive Mystic Falls High. About time, sissies!" Tyler Lockwood yelled over his shoulder as he threw the football to Matt Donovan. Matt waved at them before catching the ball. She knew he was waving at her despite the pretense and hurriedly jumped out the car before he could walk over. As if on cue, Caroline and Bonnie walked from the opposite direction.

"See you guys," she remarked before giving Stefan and Jer a small wave. She tightened the hold on her book bag and brought her books close to her chest as she walked up to her best friends.

"C'mon guys, let's go. Don't wanna be late." Elena gave them a look before pushing past and walking ahead. She hoped they would get the hint and follow her. As expected, they followed briskly behind, already understanding what message Elena coded for them: code red. The two flanked Elena comfortably, as if it were a normal occurrence.

"When are you going to tell them, Elena?" Caroline asked softly.

"Until the day I die," she replied, pursing her lips grimly. They continued to make their way into the school, arms interlocked as each girl sympathized with the other.

"Elena!" The loud voice silenced all other chitchat in the hallways making her as she let go of the girls to turn and see Stefan walking towards them.

"What do you want, Stefan," she commanded, wanting nothing more for the conversation to end and for everyone to get back to their own individual interactions. Wherever Stefan went, attention followed. It was an annoying charm of his.

He fidgeted around his pockets before bringing out a folded piece of paper. He grabbed her hand from her side and laid it flat on top of his, allowing her to enjoy the feel of his rough yet smooth skin. Their eyes were connected again and she crinkled her nose to reflect her outward disgust. The thing is, her heart was beating rapidly against her chest as she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Before she could get too caught up in the moment, he gently placed the piece of paper onto her palm and closed her hand, putting it back to her side. He let go slowly, almost as if he didn't want to. Or was that just her imagination? She watched him dumbly, mouth ajar.

"We have history together," he exclaimed, itching his eyebrow, "so I'll see you then."

Elena was partially confused as to what in hell Stefan was up to, but she knew he was playing her. He had to. And Salvatore was not going to see any of her weaknesses, even if it included him.

She whirled around and walked away. Elena gave him her second wave of the day as she turned the corner, and made sure her face didn't reveal any signs of shock.

As soon as she reached the safety of the wall, she let out a huge breath and cursed under her breath.

What was that?

And why did she react so weirdly?

Opening her hand to unravel the paper, she quickly read the message. She bit her lip to stop herself from smiling.

Elena heard a few scuffling noises behind her and swiftly pocketed the paper in her jeans.

"Okay...what the _hell_ was that, Elena Gilbert?" Caroline squealed.

* * *

The bell rang for lunch. People started marching outside, pushing past Elena as she clung close to her shoulder bag. Slightly annoyed at the crowd in front of her, she decided to take another route to the cafeteria and stop by the bathroom on the way. On the way, she passed by an interesting group of boys who gaped at her like zombies. She frowned, hurrying past to avoid any conflict, feeling eyes burning into her back like fire.

By the time she got to lunch, Caroline and Bonnie were already sitting and eating most of their pre-packaged vegan lunches. Elena almost rolled her eyes at them.

"Hey girl! Come sit, come on," Caroline patted the seat next to her following her wave. Elena couldn't help but scan the room before she sat, looking for signs of her brother.

Instead, she found Stefan Salvatore whispering sweet nothings into Rebekah Mikaelson's ear. Eck. If there was something bad about Stefan, it was his taste in girls. Elena gagged and sat down, suddenly not feeling the food she bought. Thankfully, Bonnie mentioned something slightly more interesting, which distracted Elena enough for the rest of lunch. As their talk became more heated, with the subject being mostly on cafeteria horror stories, Elena barely noticed a tall figure coming up from behind her. Bonnie stopped talking first and gave Elena a pointed look. Before Elena could ask, an arm snaked around her shoulder and his scent flooded her senses.

"Are you old grandmas gossiping about my cafeteria girls?" he breathed in her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

Elena, immediately upon hearing his voice, jerked her head up to glare at Stefan. She elbowed him quickly in the ribs.

"You have _got_ to stop coming at me like this, Stefan," she growled, "It's getting a little obsessive." At that, she gave a small smirk to her doe-eyed friends. They were smitten over Stefan just like all the other girls in the school.

"Hey, hey. I just wanted to talk to my girl and say hello to her pretty friends." At that, he winked at Bonnie which incited a blush and a wave. Ugh. Elena rolled her eyes. Girls and their hormones...a recipe for disaster. Stefan was a good for nothing, sex-crazed beast who had no regard...

"And a little obsessive? That's not what I heard last night." She jumped again as she heard his whisper, his breath blowing against her ear. Opening her mouth to say something, only to shut it back, Elena stared daggers up at Stefan. He lingered a hand against the back of her neck before letting go, wearing a delicious smirk on his lips. Delicious? Elena felt warmth in her cheeks. She hoped he didn't notice her checking him out. He was so close, she couldn't have helped it.

"Stefan!" All four of them turned to find Rebekah crossing her arms at a distance, looking...well, quite cross. Elena stifled a laugh. She looked like a nanny. You know, the one with balding hair and stinky eyes?

"You better get back to your babysitter, Stefan. Before she kicks your ass, that is." At the mention of Elena's words, Stefan flashed a mock look of horror, making the girls laugh.

"If only you were mine, Elena, I'd let you kick my ass anytime," he paused before continuing, "alright ladies, that was some great tea time. Update me with the gossip after school, yeah?" His eyebrows wiggled jokingly and Stefan walked over to Rebekah. When he got there, he placed a hand on her waist before leaving.

"And he's a gentleman," Bonnie whispered, smiling from ear to ear.

"He's annoying," Elena remarked with a frown.

"Annoyingly gorgeous, if you ask me." Caroline retorted, fixing her hair. "Do I have anything in my teeth, you guys?"

The other girls shook their heads as they slowly got up to head to class.

* * *

Elena didn't see Stefan the whole day, not even in history. A part of her wondered what he was up to, but she was too distracted by her classes. One thing Elena loved besides her family and friends was school. Without the distraction caused by the boys most of the time, she was surprisingly good at it.

Her last class of the day was math. While everyone already cleared their books away, Elena still had hers open, trying to figure out the last problem.

"Alrightys class. The bell's gonna ring—I take it back, the bell's _rung_ and you're all free to go. Remember to finish the Calculus worksheet by Friday. Again, do **not** procrastinate!"

Mr. Parker did his best to speak over the noise made by hurrying students, but to no avail.

Elena slowly cleaned up, stowing her notebooks away into her messenger.

"Thanks for today, Parker!" She gave a slight wave as she headed out the door, receiving one back before it shut.

Mr. Parker was the kind of man you knew had a social life and friends despite his boring job. He loved math with a passion, which was why he was hired right out of graduation. Elena guessed as an alum, he also had his perks. They were around 5 or 6 years apart, but grew closer throughout Elena's senior year due to the mess of SAT and numerous private tutoring sessions.

And he did it all for free.

Stefan nagged at her for weeks after he found out, saying guys wouldn't do those things without an actual reason, but Elena wouldn't hear it. Mr. Parker was just a really cool guy. It didn't help that she had a major crush on him fall semester. Kai Parker was a _real_ gentleman. Elena tucked her hair behind her ear as she walked outside the doors of her school hallway and down to the parking lot, reminiscing about those heart fluttering moments of intimacy.

But those days of sweet innocence were gone.

Now, all she could think about was...

"Elena."

"Damon...?"

 _ **AN.**_ Just wondering, but would anyone like to see this in Elena's first person pov, or would this work fine? Thanks again.x


End file.
